Steelworks take shape at The Mall Blackburn

24th March 2009

Categories: Town Centre News

Work has officially started on creating the steel framework for The Mall Blackburn's £66 million Shopping Centre redevelopment.

During the next phase of the redevelopment, hundreds of steel columns and beams will be lifted into place to create the skeletal framework of the new centre. In little under seven days, 229 columns and beams, of various weights and sizes have already been erected. 

The steelworks programme is divided into five phases. The phases are then sub-divided into 'lots' with the exact number and types of columns beams and braces allocated for each stage. The structure is then complete, phase by phase. 

Construction manager, Matt Legg at Taylor Woodrow, is responsible for ensuring the steelworks programme runs as smoothly as possible. He says: "This is a fairly complex part of the build programme and requires exceptional planning and organisation to ensure the correct pieces of steel are in the right place at the right time. However it is also one of the most rewarding, with the structure quickly taking shape over a matter of months."

Once complete, the £66m redevelopment of The Mall Blackburn will see overall retail space increase to over 600,000 sq ft, creating 20 new shops, a continental style market and parking for 1,300 cars.

High street giant, Primark, is the anchor tenant for the scheme. Other retailers include a new Peacocks store for the town with existing tenants expanding. The scheme is due for completion next summer.